ALBANY COUNTY — A law to protect drinking water in case of disruption or contamination caused by blasting was passed unanimously by the county legislature on Monday, in preparation for proposed natural gas pipeline expansions slated for the Northeast that would cut through the county.

The bill, introduced by Albany County Legislator L. Michael Mackey, of New Scotland, expanded existing state regulations that call for the notification of property owners from within 150 feet of a blast site to a full one-mile radius.

Mackey told The Enterprise this week that the Kinder Morgan attorneys he spoke with last week “agreed with me this may well result in less blasting, and the use of other technology when the pipeline comes through. This is certainly part of what I hoped would occur through enacting this. This will go a long way toward protecting people’s wells,” he said.

The law, if signed by the county executive, Daniel McCoy, will require any “blasting entity” to provide well water sampling before and after explosions take place for property owners within a one-mile radius of the blasting location, and to pay a $15,000 civil penalty for failure to notify residents within that area. Further, a blasting entity will be responsible for abatement and a fine of $15,000 per violation if a property owner’s drinking-water supply is disrupted or contaminated.

Mines are exempt from the proposed law, Mackey said previously. This week, he said that water well drillers are also exempt, based on a request by Knox Councilman Nicholas Viscio. In a letter to the Enterprise editor this week, Viscio credits Knox Councilwoman Amy Pokorny for recommending the well-drillers exemption.

Tennessee Gas Pipeline, owned by parent company Kinder Morgan, is preparing to expand its supply pipes across Albany County to reach downstate and New England. Tennessee Gas expansions are planned for the towns of Berne, Westerlo, Knox, New Scotland, and Bethlehem.

The company will use the same right-of-way where an existing pipe lies, Mackey told The Enterprise this week.

“It will be another pipeline in the same right-of-way,” he said. “They are cutting a new trench for this additional pipeline. This is a whole new pipeline.”

McCoy supports the bill, said Mary Rozak, McCoy’s director of communications, in March.

“The county executive has to hold a public hearing on it within 20 days, then has 10 days after to sign or veto it,” Mackey said. “He’s already indicated that he’s supporting it.”

“Simply put, drinking water must be protected,” McCoy said in a statement in March.  “It’s the County’s duty to protect surface and groundwater.  This legislation would protect public health and safety by requiring well-water sampling and analysis specifically when industrial activities, including blasting, could threaten that.”

Mackey said that he met with Kinder Morgan last week, and spoke with a company attorney on Monday.

“They had some general concerns about how this might affect the pipeline,” Mackey said. “The law authorizes the Albany County Department of Health to create regulations to implement the law. Kinder Morgan is interested in being kept apprised during that process, and weighing in on specific regulation. They just want to be informed when the health department enacts regulations and make comment.”

“Blasting and well protection are issues that all pipeline companies face, and we follow specific procedures in such cases across the enterprise,” Richard Wheatley, the director of corporate communications and public affairs for Kinder Morgan told The Enterprise on Wednesday.

He did not respond to specific questions on whether or not Kinder Morgan has dealt with similar laws; if the bill will affect any of Kinder Morgan’s plans for the pipeline expansion; or if Kinder Morgan follows similar guidelines for its blasting, but rather provided a general policy notice.

In the statement to The Enterprise, provided by Wheatley, Kinder Morgan said that it “plans to meet with the Albany County attorney as soon as a meeting can be arranged” to discuss the new law. Kinder Morgan “is a conscientious natural gas transmission pipeline operator that seeks to protect the environment,” the statement reads.

Local residents have water supplies that have been affected by previous blasts, Douglas LaGrange, a New Scotland councilman and candidate for supervisor, said previously. LaGrange said that he is one of them.

Historically, New Scotland has remained less developed than its neighbors in Albany County because of limestone formations underground that limit water supply and accessibility.

If the law is enacted, the costs for fixing any problems with wells that are caused by blasting will shift from the homeowner to the blaster, Mackey said.

“It buys a great deal of protection for people,” he said. “It encourages the company to consider other methods than blasting. The best thing would be to have no blasting affecting water in the first place.”

Mackey called the unanimous, 39-0, vote “very unusual.” He said that few issues have pulled the legislature together like the drinking-water law.

“That was very gratifying,” he said.